Sun 31 Mar

Last day of March. Nice sunlight effects today, even though there are some clouds in the sky. Not supposed to get very warm yet today, but looks okay. Last Sunday choir practice today, with dress rehearsal on Thurs night and performances next weekend. Won't be entirely sorry to have a break again. Food: 7:50 am Concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Slice Omega 3 bread, 27 g Jarlsberg, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 extra large banana 5:35 pm 3 oz Costco rotisserie breast, 3/4 c potato salad, 3/4 c cooked broccoli Exercise: 9:40-10:00 am Walk to church 11:10-11:30 am Walk home

Sat 30 Mar

Supposed to be a bit cooler today and looks a little cloudy, but then warm temps will be back next week. Last winter market this morning - hoping maybe David will bring hot cross buns, but whatever he brings is delicious. Got the banking taken care of to pay Costco VISA and David VISA with smaller payments than I had expected (though there are still balances left on both cards from vacation that didn't make it onto this statement). Registered for Walk Wisconsin for the full marathon on June 1. David wasn't at the market today, but we learned that there will still be additional markets on April 6, 20, and 27! Good news to me! Food: 9:05 am Hard boiled egg, concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:40 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, butter, 24 g Jarlsberg, 1/2 avocado, orange 3:30 pm 4 c Kettle corn 6:05 pm 1/2 homemade pasty, 3 slices grilled pineapple, 6 oz rose wine Exercise: 10:45-11:05 am Walk to church 11:50-12:10 pm Walk home

Fri 29 Mar

March is already coming to an end, the end of the first quarter of 2019! This year is seeing our son get more established with his business plan and will hopefully see our daughter return to Wisconsin (again). Bob and I have already had two fantastic trips within this short portion of the year, to Costa Rica and then to Paris. Wow! 2019 is awesome! Food: 6:40 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:00 pm 1/2 salmon club sandwich, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 lg banana 2:00 pm 3 Marianne mints 3:30 pm 1/2 c Quaker Oat Squares 6:00 pm 4 large seared scallops, 1/2 c green beans, 1/3 baked sweet potato, 5 oz white wine Exercise: 8:00-8:35 am Barre class 8:45-9:15 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 28 Mar

Hiked Rib for the first time of the season yesterday. They didn't plow the roadside path going up this winter so we had to walk up on the side of the road, and the trail looked icy and wet so we stayed on the road as far up as we wanted and all the way down. Felt good to get the muscles moving, even though they were in pretty good shape from the six flights of stairs up to our apartment in France. Ate at the Dane where a few things were a little different, but much remains the same. Food: 7:40 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 1 slice Omega 3 toast, butter, 1/2 ripe avocado, 1/2 large banana 2:40 pm 2 pc string cheese 4:30 pm 1/2 c dry Quaker Oat Squares 6:10 pm Sausage potato veggie apple bake, 5 oz white wine Exercise: 9:00-9:20 am Ellis St loop 12:45-1:00 pm Walk to UWSP 2:30-2:45 pm Walk home 4:55-5:10 pm Ellis St abbreviated loop

Wed 27 Mar

Cloudy today as predicted, but it's supposed to get up to 57° so I'm anxious for that. Looking forward to getting back to Bootstrap this afternoon. We have Roto Rooter coming this morning as the drain in the basement is still backing up. I was a little surprised that Bob said we could shower this morning, albeit quickly. We didn't run the dishwasher last night, and will only flush solid waste. They are supposed to come at 9 so we should be back to normal before lunch. Food: 7:30 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Brown rice veggie salad, small biscuit Exercise: 9:05-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class 5:00-6:00 pm Hiking Rib path

Tues 26 Mar

Looks like another lovely, sunny day. So nice to come back to relatively clear sidewalks and reasonable walking temperatures. The trip was wonderful, but it's also nice to be back. Got to talk with Michael a couple of times yesterday and rejoice in what a nice young man he has become. Today I get to give the Eiffel Tower postcards to my reading kids. Food: 7:50 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:55 pm Slice Omega 3 bread, 1 tbl Jif, orange Exercise: 9:20-9:30 am Walk to Jefferson 10:35-10:45 pm Walk home 11:10-11:25 am Madison St loop 1:45-2:10 pm Ellis St loop

Mon 25 Mar

Eating the last of Sebastien's caramelized brioche today for breakfast. Was delighted that my scale went even a little further down, so it gives me impetus to eat lightly and respect hunger cues. The nice weather is also a boon as I can get outside to walk again. Rather looking forward to Zumba again, though there may be a different instructor as Angel was heading back to Taiwan. Zumba is still on the schedule, so I'll hope to have class. Food: 6:45 am Caramelized brioche, 101 g blackberries, coffee 11:45 am Homemade biscuit w/butter, 2/3 c potato salad 3:45 pm Kettle corn 5:40 pm Spinach, mushroom & gruyere ravioli, tomato basil sauce, grated parmesan, 1/2 c carrots Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Sh'Bam class 9:05-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class 1:45-2:00 pm Walk to dentist 2:30-3:10 pm Walk to library and home

Sun 24 Mar

Home from Paris! What a wonderful trip we had, safe and delightful. And I was completely delighted this morning that my scale is about where it was when I left, at the lower end of what it had recently been due to diligent attention in the last couple of weeks prior to vacation. Hopefully, further diligent attention will improve the situation further. Delighted to be able to get together with Laura in Madison on Saturday as she had flown in for her spring break the day before. She was in very good spirits as she has had a decent job offer from Wisconsin Public Television for the new educational lab that sounds very much suited to her personality and skill set. She is already looking for houses in Madison, but is considering a sublet for the summer to allow her to look at greater leisure while the housing prices generally decrease for the fall. Food: 8:10 am Caramelized brioche, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:20 pm 2 scrambled eggs, orange, cheddar scone Exercise: 9:40-10:00 am Walk to church 11:15-11:35 am Walk home 4:40-5:20 pm Walk to end of Center and back

Tues 12 Mar

VACATION IS HERE!!!!!! I have to do my tutoring at 9:30 as my sub, Robin, had a death in the family and is headed to Arizona for the funeral, but we really don't need to leave til after lunch anyway. Our first commitment is dinner at Seasons 52 at 5:45 and we really don't have anything else to do in Chicago beforehand. I successfully checked in for our flights and we have assigned seats together now for both legs of the journey (on the same boarding pass!) Will be interesting to see how SAS measures up as an airline. Food: 7:40 am Cheese danish, 114 g blackberries, coffee 12:50 pm Light & Fit Peach Greek yogurt, med banana, 109 g blueberries, Thomas English muffin w/butter Exercise: 10:55-11:50 am Walk to library (on slippery sidewalks) and back

Mon 11 Mar

Last full day at home before vacation. I think I'm pretty well ready, but this afternoon should allow for last minute checks and trying to figure out what might be forgotten. Bob needs another load of laundry done as he had things he hadn't thought of by last Friday, and I can leave less dirty laundry at home to attend to when we return. Food: 6:45 am Brioche roll w/chocolate and caramel, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:55 pm 2 fried eggs, 100 g blueberries, 3 TJ's cinnamon graham crackers Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Zumba class 9:10-9:23 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 10 Mar

An hour of my sleep time, thieved away! Too bad the spring changeover couldn't have waited until we were in France so we could have missed it altogether and just come back to DST. At least France doesn't transition until after we leave. Would be rude to have to experience it twice. Looks like about 3 more inches of snow down in the night. I'll probably walk to church to cantor anyway; it doesn't seem horribly cold. Food: 6:30 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 7:10-7:35 am Tramp to church through new snow 9:15-9:40 am Tramp home

Sat 9 Mar

This is the weekend to get vacation things all put together as much as possible. Nothing else on the agenda today, and a big snow expected this evening, so time to concentrate on finalizing details. Even though I had planned not to take any more clothes than what I had already chosen, Bob wanted to go to Kohl's to look for some long-sleeved shirts for himself and I couldn't resist perusing the clearance rack. I found an excellent long-sleeve tunic-length top in my shade of blue with a black overlay print that will look very nice with either the black blazer or the blue cardigan I'm taking, and with either black pants or the black skirt or even with the gray pants. Also marked down to $8.80 (and 20% off) so it only cost about $7. Food: 9:15 am Cherry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 8 Mar

Still chilly in the mornings, though a little less so today. I think it's a little above zero. Maybe by the time we get home from France, the below zero temperatures will be just a bad memory. We can hope. Food: 6:45 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 8:00-8:35 am Barre class 8:45-9:15 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Thurs 7 Mar

Sun is shining, temps not too frigid these last couple of days (at least once the overnight cold dissipates). I get my hair cut this afternoon, but otherwise have the day to continue trip preparation. I was fortunately able to get the travel insurance settled yesterday after a long and frustrating bit of phone jockeying between people who continued to refer me to others who couldn't help. The final lady knew what I was talking about, was able to tell me exactly what to say in an email and to whom to address it to get the newly bought policy canceled and refunded and to send me the information I needed to make use of the one that is still in force. Whew! Got the confirmation of cancellation and refund later in the day. Food: 7:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 6 Mar

Steadily ticking things off the pre-travel list. Last night Bob polished my boots for me. Yesterday I started and hope to conclude today straightening out the mess with the travel insurance. I got my vitamins and toiletries squared away and started going through my suitcase a bit. It's gonna happen! Really nice Mardi Gras buffet dinner at Michele's with Michael and Taylor last night. Food: 7:50 am Concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:05 pm Half apple gruyere sandwich, orange 5:30 pm Stir fry w/shrimp, peppers, mushrooms & red onion, brown rice Exercise: 9:10-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Tues 5 Mar

Mardi Gras! Dinner at 6 at Michele's with Michael and Taylor, providing they deliver the washing machine in time. They are bringing it "between 2 and 6 pm", so I'm hoping it's toward the early part of that range. Should be fun to do laundry this Friday in a new machine. Hope it works well. Sounds like Bob is downstairs now making room for the delivery. Food: 8:05 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee 12:00 pm Hot cross bun, Light & Fit Greek peach, pear Exercise: 9:20-9:30 am Walk to Jefferson 10:35-10:45 am Walk home 10:45-11:15 am Jessica Smith Cardio Party DVD

Mon 4 Mar

France is approaching at a really fast pace now. Sharon called yesterday and told me about a company that does free walking tours for tips only; I scheduled several of their tours already. We have a quite full schedule now, but these free tours can be canceled without notice so we don't have to do them if we feel overwhelmed. I've decided to do the oyster bar in the evening early to try to avoid crowds a bit. We ordered a voltage converter which should be here tomorrow so we can safely charge all our devices. Need to pack more seriously this week. Food: 6:50 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee Exercise: 8:00-8:55 am Zumba class 9:10-9:25 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class

Sun 3 Mar

What a wonderful day we had yesterday. As we approached Madison planning to get lunch right away, Laura texted that she'd like to get lunch with us so we picked her up at Branden and Caitlin's and had a lovely time together at Brasserie V. She told us she's "99% sure that she'll be returning to Madison" after this school year and she has already had a couple of phone interviews with potential jobs. There's a really interesting one with WPT working with an educational program for high schoolers and middle schoolers, a possibility of rejoining her old CS department with some exciting new initiatives in the works that fit her interest areas, and a backup possibility with Epic. Food: 8:25 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 2 Mar

Looks like about three more inches of snow fell yesterday and last night, as if we needed it. Bob is out clearing it away with the snowblower. He broke down yesterday and ordered himself a new little electric snowblower that uses the same battery system as his lawn mower and leaf blower. It was nearly half the usual price and will be more useful for small snowfalls. It probably would have done a fine job today, but it won't get here til next Wednesday. The day after the new washing machine will be delivered. So much money going out! Scale down to 152.6 today. It seems to be working to watch portion control and mostly to stop mindlessly snacking away my afternoons, especially on sweets. I am using Mireille's 50 percent rule for many portions, deciding if I would be satisfied eating half and saving the rest for another time. I am also questioning myself with every snacking urge to see if I'm truly hungry or if the item in question just looks good to me. Made it through Bootstrap Wednesday without anything but a sparkling water, and since next week is Ash Wednesday, I don't have to worry about snacking there again. I do have to police myself strictly in Costco and Trader Joe's not to sample because it is there, and to watch my order at Lombardino's tonight. It's possible the salt in dinner may cause an upsurge again, but if I'm careful, it should be controlled. Scored at the Farmer's Market - one of the last two dozen chicken eggs and HOT CROSS BUNS!!! 9:25 am Hot cross bun, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 1 Mar

Had a bit more restless night last night, probably because I sat and read all day yesterday (though I did get up for my hourly steps and made an effort to run faster to get my heart rate elevated a bit). Managed to finish the book I have to return today, so it was successful. Supposed to get more snow again today. Nothing on the agenda for tomorrow, so if it doesn't make the roads horrible, maybe we'll go find a Costco. I'm having minor withdrawal. The scale has started showing ever so slight progress due to restraining from snacking on sweets. I am hopeful that I will find the strength to continue and get it down to a more reasonable level, and maybe reduce a bit of the belly fat. Food: 6:50 am Concha, 101 g blackberries, coffee 1:00 pm 4 spinach ravioli, 2 tbl marinara sauce, .5 tbl grated parmesan 5:30 pm Sockeye salmon, 1/2 c farro w/toasted almonds and sautéed shiitakes, 3/4 c broccoli Exercise: 8:00-8:35 am Barre class 8:45-9:15 am Treadmill 9:30-10:30 am Body Pump class 2:50-3:45 pm Walk to library and back